# New Day 3 Christmas Day > Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God. ### Opening Prayer: *Lord Jesus Christ,* ​ *Thou Son of the Most High, Prince of Peace, be born into our world. Wherever there is war in this world, wherever there is pain, wherever there is loneliness, wherever there is no hope, come, thou long-expected one, with healing in thy wings.* ​ *Holy Child, whom the shepherds and the kings and the dumb beasts adored, be born again. Wherever there is boredom, wherever there is fear of failure, wherever there is temptation too strong to resist, wherever there is bitterness of heart, come, thou blessed one, with healing in thy wings.* ​ *Saviour, be born in each of us who raises his face to thy face, not knowing fully who he is or who thou art, knowing only that thy love is beyond his knowing and that no other has the power to make him whole. Come, Lord Jesus, to each who longs for thee even though he has forgotten thy name. Come quickly. Amen. (The Hungering Dark by Frederick Buechner)* #### Psalm for the Week: Psalm 98 #### Make a Joyful Noise to the Lord #### A Psalm. *98 Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things!His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. 2 The Lord has made known his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations. 3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.* *4 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!* *5 Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody!* *6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord! 7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it!* *8 Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together9 before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.* #### Scripture for the Day: Luke 2:1-20 #### The Birth of Jesus Christ *2 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed,[b] who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.* #### The Shepherds and the Angels *8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,* *14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”[c]* *15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.* #### Reading for Reflection: *The only worry children have about Christmas is whether or not they can possibly wait for it to arrive. Perhaps this is because only kids seem to understand the secret of Christmas: It isn’t really about giving; it is about receiving.* ​ *According to the Gospels, the only person giving at Christmas is God. Everyone else is simply receiving this silent, holy miracle that breaks into the night. Much later a few wise men show up with gifts, but their giving is only as an act of worship in response to what God has given us.* ​ *Christmas is a poignant illustration of a dynamic we live with every day of our lives: we spend most of our lives trying to make things happen for ourselves and for the people we love. But life is not reduced to what you give or know or achieve. Nor is it reduced to your mistakes, your failures, or your sin. Life isn’t even defined by whom you love. Rather, it is defined by the God who loves you. In other words, you are not he central character—not even of your own life’s story. This is not meant to demean you; it is meant to set you free. (Sacred Thirst by M. Craig Barnes)* #### Reflection and Listening: silent and written #### Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself #### Song for the Week: O Little Town of Bethlehem *O little town of Bethlehem,* *How still we see the lie!* *Above thy deep and dreamless sleep* *The silent stars go by;* *Yet in thy dark streets shineth* *The everlasting Light;* *The hopes and fears of all the years* *Are met in thee to-night.* *For Christ is born of Mary, And gathered all above,* *While mortals sleep, the angels keep* *Their watch of wondering love.* *O morning stars, together* *Proclaim the holy birth!* *And praises sing to God the King,* *And peace to men on earth.* *How silently, how silently,* *The wondrous gift is given!* *So God imparts to human hearts* *The blessings of his heaven.* *No ear may hear his coming,* *But in this world of sin,* *Where meek souls will receive him, still* *The dear Christ enters in* *Where children pure and happy* *Pray to the blessed Child,* *Where misery cries out to thee,* *Son of the mother mild;* *Where charity stands watching And faith holds wide the door,* *The dark night wakes, the glory breaks,* *And Christmas comes once more.* *O holy Child of Bethlehem!* *Descend to us, we pray;* *Cast out our sin and enter in,Be born in us to-day.* *We hear the Christmas angels* *The great glad tidings tell;* *O come to us, abide with us,* *Our Lord Emmanuel!* ### Closing Prayer *O Lord our God, may something new be born in us this day, as well as this season—this season where we celebrate your birth into this cold and cruel world. This season where we rejoice over your amazing arrival to live among us; to give us light and life and hope and peace. We pray this in the Name of Jesus. Amen. (JLB)*